190E 2.6's any opinions or advice to offer?

[vito113]

I'm now looking around for something to replace the MPV. As her indoor has spent lots of my pennies on a Honda 4x4, I'm having to look at the classic (read - cheaper!) Mercs. The 190E 2.6 looks rather usefull, any comments or advice to offer?

I did look at the 2.3 & 2.5 16V's but most of these seem to have thrashed to within an inch of their lives and seem to need a lot of pampering to keep the engines in fettle. Hence, the 2.6 comes to mind, MB straight 6…should be be quick and able to take big miles… unless you know different!

Also, does any one know why MB never sold the 190 2.5TD here?

 

[sym]

I'm now looking around for something to replace the MPV. As her indoor has spent lots of my pennies on a Honda 4x4, I'm having to look at the classic (read - cheaper!) Mercs. The 190E 2.6 looks rather usefull, any comments or advice to offer?

I did look at the 2.3 & 2.5 16V's but most of these seem to have thrashed to within an inch of their lives and seem to need a lot of pampering to keep the engines in fettle. Hence, the 2.6 comes to mind, MB straight 6…should be be quick and able to take big miles… unless you know different!

Also, does any one know why MB never sold the 190 2.5TD here?

Speak to Scotth_uk - his 190 2.6 seemed to perform pretty well around the Nurburgring . . . thrashed to within an inch of its life . . ? not really !!

S.

 

[bazza]

Turbo fouled the steering on RHD models

MB weren't going to convert 16V's but came up with a crazy manifold to clear the steering

Not so easy to do with a turbo in the way

2.6 is the pick of the lot with the prices coming down all the time


Bazza

 

[scotth_uk]

Forgive me, as I am still p155ed and have just returned from my trip to Dublin. MMmmmm Bulmer's....

190e 2.6's are great cars. When I am sober tomorrow, I will post something that makes sense.

 

[Kinky]

Drinking cider in Dublin?

Tut tut tut

There's only 1 drink to be consumed in Dublin ....

I hope you had a great time - not at all envious !

 

[Round the BENZ]

190E, what a fantastic solid modern classic, oh ow I miss my 190E. Yes my current car is far better but my 190E was so strong, the mint body work seemed to last forever. Mine was a manual, drove like no other manual I'd had. The 'E' meant full electrics and other goodies. 2.6 very good engine, try hard for Service history, mine had a full file Including the origonal delivery certificate from Daimler-Benz. Good luck hunting.

 

[Sp!ke]

There's a real beaut of a 190 in the classified section right now - but because of its rarity, it aint exactly cheap

 

[vito113]

Mad, Bad and very expensive to own!

There's a real beuaut of a 190 in the classified section right now - but because of its rarity, it aint exactly cheap

…mmmmmmmm an EVO 190, that really is the Mutt Nuts! but methinks a second mortgage if it went wrong though.

 

[Sp!ke]

Have you seen this?

http://forums.mercedesclub.org.uk/viewtopic.php?t=4817

 

[UKEvo]

I've already done the second mortgage on the car.. lol..

As for reliability wise, it's an old school hard as nails merc, the 2.5 is a truly great engine and most of the alterations were related to the chassis widening/strengthning. Most parts are common with other cars in the range like the 500 SL brakes. Bespoke wise it's mostly internal engine parts, Evo only height adjustable suspension. But believe it or not, despite rarity all the parts prices are similar to other Mercs of the same age.

The only thing you don't want to go damaging is the rear wing.... These suckers go for about £3K but you can get full copies for a handful of 100's..

My Evo is prob one of only 2 or 3 in the UK that is actually fully sorted and stock.

Some gue in Guernsey is sell a *new* stored Evo II.. Talk about time warp. That and the £55K he wants for it! New price. Would be lovely if you have the sort of money to throw into a museum piece.

I drove an Evo II in Holland recently, nice, but not very different to the 1, chassis being the same apart from lighter calipers and wider wheels and a tiny bit more poke. Still there is the batmobile looks.. Both go round Hockenheim about 0.7 sec apart.

Anyway enough talk about Evo's, back to MPG discussions.. kidding..

 

[scotth_uk]

Back now, and not drunk!!!! ;-)

I have always had a soft spot for the 2.6l version of the 190e, so I bought one. In all honesty, it has been a great car and hasn't really done anything to surprise me.

Not really sure where to start, so here goes:

The engine is the M103, which I think is used widely in the E class of similar vintage. Really takes off from around 3700rpm, but has enough torque to pull the car around at lower revs. Fuel consumption is crap, unless you drive around with the gearbox in Winter mode and keep off the gas. Typically I will get 240-260 miles per 65 litre tank whilst driving "enthusiastically" around town. Headgaskets are a known issue and will require £500 worth of work to replace (I've just had mine done). Rear crankshaft seal is always worth a look, as you have to drop the gearbox out to fix it (~£400).

Air conditioning is standard MB. If kept well serviced it will go forever. Mine wasn't working when I got the car, but an evacuate and regas has it going again.

Gearbox seems strong and well suited to the power output of the car, however if you spend a lot of time on the motorway a 5 speed is something you will long for.

Suspension seems very good on the standard car. When I had standard profile tyres on the car, you felt totally disconnected from the road. Now that I have 40 series tyres it feels quite sporty.

Brakes are more than adequate. Cheap to replace too. The 2.6 has vented front discs and solid rears, which respond quickly when requested. The ABS works rather well.

Boot space is a little limited, so make sure that it is adequate for you before you buy. Seats can sag in the front, so check them out and make sure that they are acceptable. Always ensure that the sunroof is lubricated as maintenance to these is very expensive. Many of the early airbags only had 10 year life spans - £700 + VAT to replace! I have been assured that this was a conservative approach by MB, and should work for many years to come.

I paid £2000 for mine from the clearance section of a yard in London. It's in very good condition and was sold to me with approx 140k miles on it. It drives like a much newer car, as it has been fairly well maintained. I got a partial service history, but would urge you to try for one with a full history. Since purchase, I have spent £650 on wheels/tyres, £450 on a water pump (which I broke), £500 on a headgasket and about £200 on miscellaneous other bits (which didn't need replacing). Next thing is brakes and suspension rubbers, and I can't see much else that needs to be done.

I took it to the Nurburgring in Germany with the club recently, and it managed 130mph on the autobahn, mainly limited by the gearing. Track performance was blistering. I did 6 laps around the ring of which 4 were "keen laps". The brakes did not fade once and the car handling was completely predictable. I didn't come off once (but did manage a movie star sideways slide in the wet past some people with video cameras!).

The long (sorry - a bit too long) and short of it is that this car is very capable, and if it dies, I will buy another immediately. Hope that this helps.

 

[Jukie]

The 2.6 litre engine in a 190 is the same one that was in the W126 300SE but de-tuned down from 188bhp, so there is even less stress on it. I have it on very good authority that the 2.6l engine will go forever, providing it is properly maintained.

 

[vito113]

Cheers Scott, really useful writeup

Back now, and not drunk!!!! ;-)

lI took it to the Nurburgring in Germany with the club recently, and it managed 130mph on the autobahn, mainly limited by the gearing. Track performance was blistering. I did 6 laps around the ring of which 4 were "keen laps".

Oh yes! I saw the video of your 'keen' laps and I've made a note of the reg in case I find your car up for sale ;-)

Seriously though, the car really did seem to go like blazes round the 'Ring! Loved the exhaust and engine note… very sporty! Who needs a 2.5 Cosworth?

I wanted something that's good on the Autobahns and can cover big miles in a day ( I did 1017 miles in a day this summer coming back from down south) and this seems like the car for the job.
I would imagine that as the M103 engine is as per all the inline sixes the engine of choice when a 2.6 needs sorting would be the 3.0 from the E series. So, come the new year its shopping time an your tips will be helpfull.

Best regards

Andy

 

[vito113]

190E übercar!

By the way Scott, have you seen this totally nutter 190E?

http://mb190.tripod.com/readers/11.html